Beginning Stage: Aftermath
by Turbanator
Summary: A continuation of Tenchi in Tokyo. Why did Yugi choose to sleep in stasis? This is one possible way it may have gone... COMPLETED
1. Prologue - Fall

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Aftermath - Prologue

Usual disclaimers apply here. I do not own any part of Tenchi Muyo, Tenchi in Tokyo (or Shin Tenchi if names matter), and will gladly remove this fanfic if the producers wish me to do so. 

What follows now is a short prologue of the ending of Shin Tenchi.

****

Fall

Somewhere over Tokyo

Inner sanctum of Yugi's Ice Fortress

Time unknown (being frozen of course)

Tenchi is standing before Yugi, the sacred sword of the Masaki clan gripped tightly in his hands. It continues to radiate its immense power. He glances up to see several coloured gems, not knowing that they represented the family that had stuck so close to him before he left for Tokyo. Mentally ready, Tenchi looked to his opponent. 

Yugi is there, hovering a few inches in the air, her black mantle and cloak looking more imposing than the fragile child that it protected. She was crying, her tears freely flowing down her face. _I don't believe it, after so many years alone I am to be defeated by one boy. I don't want to die…_ Her power crackled in her hands, a deceptively small violet coloured ball of energy as she pumped more of her life force into it. 

"Are you going to lock me up again?" Yugi pleaded with Tenchi, her voice becoming more desperate, "Please, don't… I can't take it… I didn't do anything wrong! What did I do to you? Stop! Don't come near me!" She tries one final time, "Please! I don't want to be alone in the dark!"

Tenchi gave no sign of hesitation as he replied, "Give it up, you're finished!" He figured that this was probably her final attack, her power increasing slightly, and stood firm, prepared for anything. 

__

There is no turning back now, he cannot understand why I am doing this. Yugi was tormented, but nevertheless shouted, "I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!" 

With her final shout she unleashed the blast she had been building up towards Tenchi. She knew she had lost, and had no confidence in herself as it expanded to many times its own size. Tenchi braced himself for the oncoming blast but only felt a rushing wind as the sword sliced effortlessly through her attack. The two halves of the blast flew safely by Tenchi, and the others outside watching Yugi's Inner Sanctum. 

Yugi watched as the makeshift shield created by the sword protected him. Tenchi swiped once in the air, making the shield dissipate as he began to walk fast towards Yugi. She backed off a few steps upon seeing this. As Tenchi walked on, Sasami's words kept echoing in his mind. _"Yugi was my friend. She was really nice, I know there is a good person somewhere deep inside of her. I hope you don't have to hurt her." _Tenchi realised that there was only one thing he could do as he approached Yugi. 

Meanwhile Yugi was preparing to die, she had placed most of her life power in that last attack, and by now was too tired to even attempt another one. She continued to plea for her life and ask Tenchi to leave her alone, but still he kept coming. _I'm going to die. Its hopeless, I can't fight any more…_She cried her final tears. 

Then the pain hit her across the face. It seemed harsh, not the smooth cutting motion that she would've expected from a slash by a sword. Her vision was blurry from the tears that clouded her eyes, but she suddenly realised that she was still alive. She noticed the sword embedded in the ground a few feet away from her, and Tenchi had a hand raised to her. He had slapped her. As her heavy mantle and cloak fell to the ground, Yugi remained floating for a few more seconds before Tenchi gently held her arms and made her stand on her own two feet. He stooped down to her level and held his hand on the cheek he slapped her. 

"No matter how sad or lonely you feel, this is no way to solve your problem." He spoke with such a kindness in his voice that it made Yugi look up into his eyes. He continued, "Any, what makes you think you're all alone in the world Yugi? Everybody feels lonely sometimes but hey, you should've just come over to our place y'know?"

Yugi was shocked, he was showing too much kindness and sympathy towards her. His hand, warm against her cold skin, seemed to soothe the pain from the slap he gave her. Knowing that he wasn't going to hurt her, she leaned against him her head resting on his shoulder and began to speak.

"He left me all alone in that dark place. It was scary, and I was there for so long. I…" she paused slightly. _I'm not sure what I want now. All my life I've wanted something but now… _Yugi realised that there was only one thing she wanted at that time. "I just want to be with Sasami now. I don't want to be alone any more…" 

At that point she began to break down, crying tears into Tenchi's shoulder. Once she began to feel safe for the first time in her life, all her boundaries lowered. This resulted in her kingdom collapsing, the gems that represented each of those people close to Masaki Tenchi blinking out of existence as the sacred sword began to revert to its crystallised form. This went unnoticed by the two as Tenchi continued to comfort her. 

"Come with us then to our home. It can be your home too." Since her kingdom no longer existed, time began to flow freely again, her ice fortress no longer there, and they are all now standing on a skyscraper, girders still visible since it isn't complete as yet. The others were astonished to see that Yugi was still alive and were happy especially Sasami. 

"I feel sleepy." Yugi was feeling drowsy, "I was trying so hard for such a long time, now I'm just tired…" The exertion of so much power drained her to the point where it was hard for her to stand up straight. She leaned further into Tenchi, beginning to fall asleep. 

Tenchi realised that she was speaking the truth, "Well you can rest now, you're safe with us." He let her continue to doze off on his shoulder as Mihoshi commented that the sun had risen…


	2. Rest

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Aftermath - Chapter 1

Rest

A few moments later

Yugi, having expended all her life energy, fell asleep right there and then on Tenchi's shoulder. To ensure that she didn't fall to her death, precarious as he was on the point where two girders met, Tenchi slowly picked her up. He began to carry her carefully across several girders, ever wary that one false step could result in a fall spanning several storeys. He glanced over at the others and noticed that Ryoko was tensed. He smiled at her. _She's getting ready to catch me in case I fall, she still cares about me, even after everything I've done to her… _Once he reached the others there was a collective smile of approval. Everyone was happy for what he had done, especially Sasami. He hushed them all, since Yugi was snoozing into his shoulder; he didn't exactly want to wake her up.

"Thank you all for helping me out, I know that you didn't have to especially after all that I did." He spoke softly, showing them the crystals, which were now back in their joined state, attached to the chain that usually hung around his neck. 

Everyone was happy and crowded around him, eager to see if he was hurt in any way. They were still heedful of the fact that Yugi, the person who caused all their problems, was just there. 

"Anyway, how do we get down from here?" They were still on an unfinished building, with no staircases having been produced yet.

Ryoko spoke up, "That's easy Tenchi, we just use the lift!" She walked over to the workers lift, situated on the side of the building and pressed the 'Call' button. However, it seemed that the lift wasn't moving. She pressed it again, and again, then she got a bit agitated and created a small blast about to pulverise it. An arm stopped her. 

"Easy Ryoko." Tenchi smiled again at her, the mere physical contact between the two making Ryoko blush a little, "The workmen probably turned the power off before they left, and the generator they use would require a key."

"Well, how are we going to get down then?" Mihoshi sounded a bit worried.

"Easy, I can fly us down!" Ryoko beamed at everyone, and everyone agreed. "This means I get a few minutes alone with Tenchi." She began to purr in his left ear, away from Yugi, moving her body, closer to his. This only succeeded in embarrassing Tenchi and provoking Ayeka, who blew up and was about to attack Ryoko before Tenchi stepped in. 

"Now, now, settle down please…" He was getting tired already, his eyelids getting heavier by the minute, "Ryoko can take us down one by one, starting with me." 

Nobody objected, except maybe Ayeka, who didn't want to have to rely on Ryoko for anything. She glared angrily at Ryoko, anger cross mark on her forehead blinking constantly. It increased its frequency after seeing Ryoko grab Tenchi's arm as she began to hover away from the edge of the building, her gift of flight temporarily being shared by Tenchi. As a parting gesture, Ryoko pulled down her eyelid with her other hand and stuck her tongue out at Ayeka, laughing wickedly afterwards knowing that Ayeka could not follow. Floating down slowly so as not to make Tenchi sick, she watched him closely, noting his expression as he looked at Yugi occasionally. _What is he feeling? It looks like pity… understanding maybe? _Though there was no sound apart from the wind blowing around them, Ryoko felt that there was tension, and decided to clear it up.

"Tenchi," she spoke softly, making him look at her, "I do forgive you, you must understand. I know you must still feel guilty for the events that transpired, but you couldn't have foreseen any of this."

This made him smile warmly, "Thank you Ryoko, I was worried about you, since I had heard you resumed your career as a pirate." He swallowed, "I didn't realise how much I had hurt you…"

Ryoko smiled foxily at him, "Well now, that's all in the past now, Hotsuma, the person Yugi commanded to lure me away from you is dead, and there's nothing more to worry about for the time being." She then took on a serious face and glanced at the sleeping child in Tenchi's arm, "What is going to happen to Yugi? Will she adapt to living a normal life?"

Tenchi looked down at Yugi, "I'm not sure, she was hurt for what happened to her. She's not pure evil, just very angry, but I think… well, hope… that she has got it all out of her system. We'll see what happens…"

At that moment Ryoko and Tenchi touched the ground, dust scattering away as they landed. 

"Well, I have to go pick up the others now, I'll see you in a bit Tenchi." Ryoko blew him a kiss, causing a sweatdrop to form on Tenchi's head. 

"Ryoko…" He said, a trifle embarrassed at her affections for him. Tenchi watched her fly back up the building, occasionally blurring out of view only to reappear a few moments later. 

"Tenchi, you have returned to us safely." A familiar voice that Tenchi knew caused him to turn around to face his…

"Grandfather!" He was slightly shocked to see him, "How did you find me?"

Katsuhito closed his eyes, adjusting his glasses, "I have my ways Tenchi." _Well, I might as well make it sound a bit mysterious; I did see Ryoko flying down the building._ However, once he realised who Tenchi was carrying in his arms, he widened his eyes slightly, his imperturbable exterior losing itself for a few moments. Tenchi noticed this reaction, rare as it was for his grandfather to lose his neutral composure.

"I know what you're thinking grandfather, but I felt it was the only way to end this. It isn't right to kill an innocent child, no matter how misinterpreted her ideas were." Tenchi closed his eyes for moment, expecting his grandfather to berate him over this choice. 

"Tenchi, I have faith in your decision." This shocked Tenchi, who gasped and looked at Katsuhito. "You have always been a gentle person, never raising a hand in anger towards any individual, even when Ryoko first came to Earth. You were merely protecting yourself then. I trust that you will take responsibility of Yugi."

Tenchi nodded, just as Ryoko arrived with Sasami. The following minutes went by quickly, Ryoko acted as a ferry to get the others, Washu remained nonchalant as if the somewhat unusual journey was normal. Kiyone enjoyed the feeling of flying without the use of a spaceship, thanking Ryoko after her trip. Mihoshi latched on the back of Ryoko, her arms around Ryoko's neck in case she fell, tears streaming down her cheeks pleading for her not to fall to death. Ryoko couldn't reply due to the lack of oxygen she was receiving from Mihoshi's firm grip around her throat. Finally, Ryoko clapped her hands together.

"Well, we're all done now, we can go!" Walking off, Sasami was about to chime in when a loud voice was heard from the top of the building.

"RYOKO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET UP HERE THIS INSTANCE!" The voice of the now stranded Ayeka bellowed down at them. Her voice was accompanied by colourful triangles that indicated her presence. Ryoko's eyes suddenly turned into semicircles, angry that Ayeka was trying to order her about. 

Turning on a fake smile she spoke, "Oh… silly me, I'll be back in one moment!" 

Once she had turned her back, her face reverted to one of animosity, anger cross flaring on her forehead. Floating up more slowly than usual, as if to frustrate the Jurian Princess any further she finally reached her level, but did not step onto the girder, instead she floated just out of reach over the edge. 

"So, what do want pretty princess?" Putting her hands on her hips, with a victorious smirk on her face, Ryoko enjoyed teasing Ayeka. 

Ayeka crossed her arms and folded her arms and closed her eyes, "I simply require some help getting off this roof, nothing more."

"And what makes you think I'd want to do something like that?" Ryoko sounded in disbelief, "I mean, you're a Royal Princess, can't you get down without the help of a space pirate like me? What about your Guardians?"

Infuriated Ayeka shouted, her mouth displaying four large fangs, "Oooh! I'm going to get you for that!" 

Jumping for Ryoko, she forgot that she was now in mid air, Ryoko moved back a few inches to remain out of her reach. Eyes bugging out, Ayeka noticed the vast space below her feet, hanging there for only a few seconds before she began to fall. _I'm going to die… I'm never going to be able to marry Tenchi…_ Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm. Shocked, she looked up to see Ryoko, who was now looking serious. Miffed that Ryoko had to be the one to save her she grumbled under her breath.

"You know, you should be careful Ayeka," Ryoko spoke, and drew level with Ayeka, both of them floating slowly downwards. Ayeka noted that there was not a hint of sarcasm in Ryoko's tone of voice. Ryoko continued, "You do realise that I would never let any harm come to you, not after all that we've been through together. I hope you know that…"

Ayeka's eyes widened, her irises shrinking slightly as she took this in. _I… I can't believe it, Ryoko is being… nice to me._ However after thinking for a few more moments, she realised that no matter how many times they fought, apart from their first day on Earth, it was as if they were sparring between friends. They drank sake together in the hot springs all the months they were together, commented on each others clothing, ate with each other fairly peacefully at the table… All good times for them. 

Lowering her head as if shamefaced Ayeka spoke, "I… I do now, it had never occurred to me that's all. To me it seems that we always fight one another over nothing."

"Not over nothing Ayeka." corrected Ryoko, "We fight over Tenchi. However his heart is owned by someone else…" Her pained expression finally made it clear to Ayeka.

"Sakuya right?" Ayeka was saddened, especially since she knew now that Sakuya was Yugi's shadow, and thus now no longer in existence. "It had to happen one day, that he would choose a girl for himself, we were selfish to assume that it had to be someone from our home."

The two shared a few moments of contemplative silence as they touched down next the group on the ground. Tenchi spoke to all of them.

"We should go back home, to Okayama, to get some rest, since it would be good for us all." Katsuhito raised an eyebrow.

Washu, realising what he had just said exclaimed, "We?! Does that mean…"

"Yes," interrupted Tenchi, "I'm going back home with you all."

This delighted everyone there, with cheers of joy emanating from everyone. Katsuhito solely smiled. They began to walk back to Tenchi's apartment where they would then use the interdimensional portal hidden in his quilt to get back home. Tenchi led the way with Katsuhito as the others followed on. Ayeka and Ryoko, being the last people to have arrived were still at the back of the group. 

"Ayeka?" Ryoko caught her attention, "I want you to know that I respect you, and consider you to be a true friend, and don't you ever forget that."

This made Ayeka smile, "I respect you too Ryoko, you're a true friend to me too. I won't forget what you told me." 

With that they continued to walk on in silence, happy in the thoughts that all the bad blood between them had finally been eliminated, and that a new beginning was commencing in a new wave of peace, as dawn breaks over the bustling metropolis that is Tokyo. 

****

Several hours later

Okayama

The rest of the time went by quickly. Upon reaching the apartment, Tenchi opened the portal fully, to allow the girls back first, then for Ryoko to help his grandfather through, and then later himself (seeing as the portal was embedded in the ceiling of the Masaki household living room). Tenchi asked Washu to keep the portal open until he had sorted everything out over there, to which she complied. Tenchi immediately went up to his room, the room in which he hadn't visited for many a month. Pulling back the covers of his bed, he laid out Yugi on the bed, facing upwards. Resting her head on the pillow, he found that her choice of attire that she chose to wear on her head prevented her from lying comfortably. Gently pulling her red and black striped hat off, her blonde hair billowed out. Smiling he hand-combed her hair so that it lay at her sides, her bangs naturally forming in front of her ears. _Just like Sakuya._ Tenchi was shocked; she did look like a younger version of Sakuya. Clenching his eyes shut and shaking his head, he shook that vision out of his head, the memory of the last time he 'saw' Sakuya, when she sacrificed her own life so that Tenchi could save the others. _Sakuya was Yugi's shadow; Yugi had created her to get me to separate from my friends. She had also destroyed Sakuya once her 'job' was complete…_ Wrought with conflicting emotions, Tenchi struggled to show restraint, and slowly tucked Yugi in, leaving only her head exposed. Walking to the doorway of his room, he turned and saw Yugi stir in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent, shifting her body so that she lay on her side. Sighing slightly, he slid the door shut quietly and left. 

Walking downstairs Tenchi was with everyone who was now ready to give him a hug, resulting in him being out of breath from so many hugs. Even his father, who staggered in from outside burnt, wet, and covered in thorns, gave him a hug. Ayeka sweatdropped, saying that she forgot that he lived in the house during the time when she prepared the house for attack. The Guardians also apologised to him, since they were the ones who identified him as an intruder. Sake was distributed to everyone except Sasami, who was still too young to drink it; she had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Campai!" They all held their glasses up and then took a sip of their drink. 

The festivities were muted due to the sleeping resident upstairs, which was partly the cause of their celebrations. The main thing was that this was not a victory drink over the defeat of Yugi, but for the return of Tenchi, along with more peace for the family. Soon after, they began to get tired. A few minutes later, Katsuhito decided that enough was enough and told everyone that they should go to sleep in the hope that the coming day would see many happy things. Everyone agreed and went to their old rooms, Ayeka and Sasami being the only ones who were using their bedrooms recently. The others found their rooms as they left them, much to their delight.

Tenchi decided to go to sleep too, and reopened his room to find Yugi still asleep. Quietly crouching, he reached under his bed for his spare futon and pillow that he used when someone wanted to stay with him, rare as it was. Safe in the knowledge that Yugi was asleep and facing away from him, he got dressed into his pyjamas and promptly got into the futon to get to sleep. Once he closed his eyes, he feared for one second that Yugi might turn and kill him whilst he slept. He pushed those fears out of his mind since he knew she couldn't hurt anyone now in her state. Once he put that issue to rest, Tenchi drifted off to sleep in no time.

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Author's notes

My second fanfic to date (that I have 'published' on the web), and my first Tenchi fic. This will be an ongoing project for many months; I have several chapters already planned out in my mind, with major events to happen. I am going to focus on Yugi mostly for the first few chapters, and how she will adapt to her surroundings, including how the others feel about her. 

I do understand that there are those who despise Shin Tenchi, and I can understand why. However, I proclaim myself to be one of those who actually likes the series. Some comments about what I have written so far would be nice, although flames about why I chose Shin Tenchi will not be welcome. Encouragement would be nice too ^_^

Merry Christmas everyone!

- Jason


	3. Nightmare

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Aftermath - Chapter 2

Nightmare

The Kitchen

13:30

Sasami was cooking a light lunch, seeing as dawn broke when they were flown down from the building. After an hour of celebration, sleep was required by all, even though dawn had now broke in Okayama as well, so they all slept in late. She was chopping up some carrots and cucumbers simultaneously with different hands. Whistling a happy tune, she began laying out portions of food. At that moment Tenchi walked in, a hand over his mouth as he stifled a yawn. 

"Morning Sasami." His eyes were still half-open, his hair dishevelled. 

"Good morning Tenchi!" Sasami turned to him momentarily before resuming her cooking duties. "It looks like its going to be a lovely day today! Sunny but a cool breeze blowing all day so you won't get to hot." 

"That good to hear!" Tenchi smiled a little. "I just need to let you know not to make a portion for Yugi as yet."

"Oh?" Sasami stopped what she was doing and turned to Tenchi, a worried expression on her face. _What's happened to Yugi, I hope she hasn't done something to upset Ryoko or Ayeka…_

"I wouldn't worry as yet Sasami, it's just that she hasn't woken up as yet." He saw the alarmed expression on her face, "It's nothing serious, I hope, she's still breathing as if she were asleep, but Washu tells me that she is regenerating from last night."

He heard Sasami breathe a sigh of relief as she lost her anxiety over Yugi. She looked down blushing slightly, since she shouldn't be so worried over Yugi, who tried to hurt her friends. Tenchi walked over and knelt to her level, putting both hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes.

"Sasami," He spoke seriously as she made eye contact with him, "I won't let anyone hurt her anymore, she has had enough of that already. Hopefully one day she can join us and have a normal life."

This cheered up Sasami, smiling, she relied, "Thank you Tenchi! I'll get back to cooking lunch then."

Patting her on the head, Tenchi smiled, "Good, you do that then."

As she skipped back to her cooking, Tenchi left the kitchen and returned upstairs to his room. Washu was there, her portable computer doing some analysis on the sleeping form of Yugi. Various viewscreens were popping up around Washu, mostly containing medical information such as heart rate, breathing rate and mental activity. 

"Hello Tenchi," Washu said without turning her head.

"How is she?" He asked, "Is there any improvement?"

"Not as yet, her breathing is slow and steady, reminiscent of a typical sleeping pattern, however her heart rate is slow." She stopped typing for a minute and turned to look at him, "It is increasing steadily, so I still stand by my theory that she is gaining her strength back. All the data I gathered from Ayeka regarding Jurian biochemistry and anatomy concurs mostly for Yugi, with a few alterations to her cerebral cortex." She frowned, "Not surprising considering she is a mutant, made to use more of the Jurian psychic ability…" Stopping she looked at him as if to say that she finished everything that has needed to be said.

"Thank you Washu, at least she is in no immediate danger." Sensing that the pink-haired scientist in front of him was eager to leave, Tenchi spoke up again. "If you want, you may leave now Washu, but I would like it if you could leave the monitoring equipment here, in case her condition improves… or worsens."

"Sure thing Tenchi, I just want to continue my study of the crystals, if you don't mind."

Reluctantly removing the crystals, which were still in their fused form, he gave them to Washu, "Don't do anything silly with them, they are a keepsake from my mother, and obviously the sword of the Masaki clan."

"No problem, I just want to check out the harmonic frequency of the quantum alpha and delta waves, at the sub-atomic level."

"Umm, sure…" A sweatdrop appearing on his forehead as he replied. _I have no idea what she just said…_

When Washu left, Tenchi walked over to the still form of Yugi, still breathing steadily, the monitors, which were still hovering over her, bleeping fairly normally. Seeing some sweat on her brow, he placed the upside of his hand on her forehead. _Hmm, she's feeling rather hot. _Lowering the covers of the bed, he placed her arms on the outside of quilt, so that heat can be expended by more parts of her body without being reflected. Leaving the room for a few moments, he returned with two pieces of cloth, he use the dry one to dab at her head, removing her sweat, and then he placed cloth damp with ice cold water (but not damp enough to drip) on her head. Looking at the monitors, he saw that her temperature began to fall after a few minutes to a more 'human' level. Satisfied that he had done all he could he turned to leave, but glanced at the portable computer that Washu left behind to monitor Yugi, and saw a small contraption similar to a watch. What drew him to it was that there was a small sign with his name on it. Picking up the note he read it

---------

Tenchi

Wear this watch to warn you if Yugi's condition changes drastically. It will vibrate and bleep similar to a normal digital watch. No details will be given, but it would imply that either she is regaining consciousness, or deteriorating.

The greatest scientific genius in the universe

Washu ^_^ v

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Placing the card in his pocket, he put on the watch. It looked like any run-of-the-mill digital watch, with a few slight differences. It had a small antenna, around an inch, on the left side of it, level with the rest of the watch and perpendicular to the top part of the watch. The watch told the time as well, and looked inconspicuous enough to not draw any unwanted attention to it. Making sure that Yugi was fine once more, he left her to her slumber.

Meanwhile, as he left, Yugi began to frown, her expression becoming more pained as time progressed. 

****

From Yugi's perspective

Life. I am alive. I opened my eyes slightly; narrowing them as my pupils became smaller as the white light above me continued to glow. The light dimmed slightly, giving me a better view of my surroundings. I appeared to be in a strange room, the walls were a metallic silver colour. I could see several medical instruments on a small tray near me to my right. I then realised that six people surrounded me, all looking at me intently. I sat up looking at each of them with suspicion. Four of them were wearing what I would consider to be surgical robes. The other two, furthest away from me, were wearing different robes. They seemed to be smiling at me, one man and a violet-haired woman with one spot on her forehead. 

They spoke, telling me of my origins, how I was created to be part of the Royal Family of Jurai, with the use of my psychic abilities to prove useful to defeat any opponents. They had implanted some knowledge in my brain at what I am now told was my birth. They said I heralded a new age in Jurai, a new breed of warrior class people that did not have to descend from Royal lineage, but could possess as much power as the legendary tree Tsunami. I took this knowledge in as is, I didn't understand all of it, nor cared about it. 

I was assigned two guardians to act as my parents, due to my unique birth, and was given the usual privileges to a child of the Royal family. The true nature of my being was kept a closely guarded secret amongst the family. I had many a happy day amongst the fellow children. We all played together in the Royal gardens, blissfully ignorant of what our futures entailed, all the business done by our parents. My guardians were very loving to me; they treated as their own. They told me in secret that they had been trying for a child for many years but were unfortunate in the fact that they were not blessed. They had gone to the ruler of Jurai to plea for some form of intervention or help in them attaining a child. Reproduction was done naturally between two people, and no medical procedure was allowed to infringe on this. The Empress Hinacey, as usual, refused. There were many couples in a similar position as them, and all were told the same answer. However, an aide whispered something to the Empress. This led to a series of meetings with aides and doctors over my adoption. They had informed my guardians of my birth, and what I represented to the Royal family. They were guaranteed to never go hungry or be poor again as long as they took care of me and tell no one of the secret they were entrusted to. They did that and more, they adored me, and I likewise adored them. The Royal family gave us one of the homes created within the palace boundaries, that only contained one floor, but enough to house one family. We lived happily as a family for several months, eating together, going out to special events, and many other things, although forgotten now, that made me love them even more. 

The people in what I now know as the medical wing ordered me to not use my powers unless told otherwise. I was not to pry into another's thoughts or any other psychokinetic powers. I adhered to these rules doggedly, not having any real reasons to do so otherwise. One rule they demanded that we follow was to return to the medical wing once a month from the day of my birth. They ran some scans on me, telling me to read the thoughts of people in the room whilst there were monitors detailing every quadrant of my brain. I refused to read the thoughts of my guardians. This was one of my prerogatives that I demanded, the courtesy for them to be safe in the knowledge that I don't read their thoughts when around me, thus violating their privacy. They said that once I have matured, I would be able to use my powers freely. I feel tired after using my powers, but I am thankful that I can return to my family. 

However, the fateful day came. Rumours were spreading inside the palace walls, doubting that my guardians were my true parents. The Royal family strenuously denied these rumours, protecting my family and I. However it wasn't to last, a defiant individual broke into the medical wing a night one day, stealing all the medical records about me. This was obviously a planned operation, as they must have been observing my fairly regular visits to the medical wing. The Royal family was outraged by the break-in, the first of its kind in the Royal medical wing. For a few days, nothing was heard of the missing documents, then a group of angry people, people from within the palace and ordinary people who resided on Jurai, those not of royal blood. They each had copies of the documentation, demanding to know why a mutant was allowed to have been created, and to reside within the palace as if she were royalty. The Royal family could not refute this evidence, but still, under increasing pressure, stuck by us, stating that I was the future of Jurai. 

Nevertheless my guardians were besieged and spat at by passers-by, sometimes throwing rotten food at them. We were no longer seen as royalty by the people, and were considered the lowest of the low, being refused entry to certain areas and no longer allowed to purchase items from some shops. Even the children that I used to play with no longer spoke to me, which distressed me further. As soon as I entered the play area, some of the children just shunned me immediately, walking over to the other side of the area. Seeing a girl who I considered my best friend playing in the sandpit, I think her name was Yumiko, I walked briskly to her. She heard my footsteps, looked up and smiled, patting a spot next to her. I knelt down in that and spoke.

"You don't hate me then…" I looked down, unable to face her pink eyes.

"No," Yumiko beamed at me, "I don't care if you are a… what was it my mother said… aah yes, a mutant. I still like you, and you're still my friend."

This made me really happy; I finally had a friend I could rely on. "Thank you Yumiko!" I gave her a small peck on her cheek and a slight hug.

She giggled, knowing that I rarely showed such emotions in public. Her light blue hair in a single ponytail at the back bobbing as she laughed. I drew back, blushing a little.

"So… Sorry Yumiko."

"Don't worry about it Yugi. Come on!" She gestured to the sandpit, "Lets see if we can make a tree!"

Knowing that trees were what the Jurian culture was based on, symbolism of trees was everywhere. Building a tree in sand required a lot of skill, wet sand required to make the top half of the tree stable enough so as to not let it fall in a pile. One odd ability that I had was the ability to test physics to its limit, I could calculate complex formulae in my mind in only a few seconds, even manipulate molecules at the atomic level. With these abilities, it was simple to build a stable sand representation of a tree. A job well done, I turned to Yumiko and shook her hand, both of us closing our eyes smiling, happy. 

"Why are you touching my daughter?!" 

I heard a yell from the entrance of the play area, it was Yumiko's mother, and upon seeing her she hitched up her dress and ran over to where we were sitting. I was frozen in my stance, still holding onto Yumiko's hand, even after the minute or two it took for her to reach us. Trampling the tree in the progress, she slapped me across the cheek, making me fall to the ground dazed and confused. She had picked up Yumiko and began to run away from me.

"Yu… Yumiko?" I began to cry, not from the stinging pain of the slap, but because my friend was leaving. 

"Yugi!" She was shouting out from her mother's grip, "Mama, let me go! I want to stay with Yugi!"

Her mother would have nothing of it, disregarding her comments and leaving with Yumiko screaming out for Yugi, tears flowing down her freckled face. I had one hand out, trying to help her. Without me realising it, a dark shadow was growing from my hand, leaving an indentation on the ground over where it was flowing. Yumiko saw this and stopped shouting. I withdrew, and decided to break my oath. I opened up my mental barriers and reached out peacefully towards the mind of my friend.

__

"I'm sorry Yumiko, I'm using my powers for the first time. This is just to say goodbye, since I doubt we will see each other again." Yumiko was shocked to hear this in her head but she looked into my purple eyes and nodded. I could sense her sadness at leaving me. 

__

"I'm sorry too Yugi, I hope we see each other again soon." I was shocked, I didn't expect her to reply, but then I remember that the doctors had told me that all Jurian's had repressed psychic abilities, I was more special in this fact. 

__

"Thank you my friend, till the next time. Have fun with your life." I knew she received my reply since she broke down into tears again, unable to look at me in face, I thought I might've heard a sobbing and a choked up 'Yes, I will', but I couldn't be sure. Finally her mother reached the entrance and left, I never saw her again… I collapsed to the floor crying hopelessly, I had no more friends now. I was alone, completely alone.

At the end of the day I returned home to my parents, and cried into their arms. They had heard what had happened, and tried to comfort me as best as they could. A week went by, everyone ignored us as usual, my former friends called me names in the streets, and we could stand it no longer. The tragedy was to unfold. We did reside within the palace walls, but had our own individual home, like some others there. Having just woken to screams, I saw people attacking my parents. I waved my hand over a sensor to switch the light on, the uniform glow appearing throughout the room. There were four men, each with heavy weapons, the shadows concealing their faces. I saw my parents' bed, now bathed in blood. My mother's arm lay horizontally off the bed, dripping blood onto the floor. They had been bludgeoned to death. Looking at the now disfigured bodies of my parents, their mouths no longer moving, my irises shrank to pinhead size. Looking at the men with a look of utter bewilderment I snapped, finally losing my sanity. I screamed, a resounding piercing scream from the bottom of my heart. 

The room began to shake violently, causing parts of the ceiling to buckle and fall. The men were getting worried now, each muttering to one another over what to do. One of the men pointed at me, resulting in one of the attackers to come and try to kill me. I smirked. Looking straight ahead, and was looking through him as if he didn't exist, as he brought down his weapon. It smashed uselessly into my forcefield I had generated, using some molecules of air I had been able to create an impervious barrier by making the molecules closer together, like in any solid object. Moving my eyes upward to meet his, I screamed, this time out of pure rage. The man flew backwards, as did everything around me. The house exploded, being pulverised from my force inside of it. Remarkably the men were still alive, picking themselves out of the rubble of the house. By now, people from the surrounding homes were awake by all the commotion and were running out into the night sky to see. Some of the palace guards had run to our region as well. 

Still enraged, my aura reflecting my anger, red as the blood of my parents, I stepped towards the killers of my father and mother. The first man, who attacked me last time, stepped back, fearful of what he saw in my eyes, the lust for revenge. Smiling, my fangs showing, I held out a hand to him and the shadow began to extend. Terrified he tried to run away but it was no use, after three steps the shadow enveloped him. His screams muffled, I took great pleasure in dissolving his skin layer by layer, keeping him alive until the last possible moment, whereby the shadow spat him out, his body still twitching in convulsions, only the muscles and some bone visible on his body. The neighbours were horrified at this, stepping further and further away from this scene. One of the men tried to attack me from the left. Holding up my left arm, palm facing him, I let out an enormous blast that shattered all his bones. As he lay on the ground, a broken man in tremendous pain, I watched him die slowly, him feeling more pain than was ever thought possible. He died minutes later. 

The other had run off long ago, no longer in my sight. Since it was still dark I could not see their faces. I knew I would find them though. Feeling the air molecules around me I began to propel myself upward into the sky, eliciting shouts of shock and amazement. Opening my mind I was scanning the surface of the minds I could feel, the nearest ones below were experiencing shock and fear, whilst the rest were in slumber. However I could sense two minds which were panicky and fearful, moving very fast away from my area. Smiling, I flew over in their direction. Guessing correctly, I could see them after only a few minutes. Flying faster I emerged in front of them, hovering slightly above the ground. They were trapped. I felt out with my mind for lost souls, and found several. Using my will I made them reality again, this time in the shapes of what the men were truly afraid of. These ghouls encircled the two, making one of them die from sheer fright, his hair standing on end, his skin a paler colour than before. Clicking my fingers, the ghouls vanished, returning to their eternal slumber. Holding one hand towards the last remaining man, feeling the molecules around him, I slowly clenched my hand into a fist. In doing this, the air around him began to slowly crush the man. As his screams became wetter, his lungs filling up with blood, I laughed and left him to die pitifully. 

Flying away to one of the spots we as a family used to visit, I sat on one of the rocks overlooking a lake that was surrounded by many trees in an area of natural beauty. Feeling more at peace here, I remembered the times in which we used to have picnics here when we had enough time to spare, sometimes bathing in the lake occasionally. Crying onto my hands, tears dripping from my face, I whispered.

"Mother, father, I love you… I wish you became one with Tsunami and may peace be upon your souls forever." Breaking down, I bawled out loud, eventually leading me to cry myself to sleep. 

I woke up. I wasn't sure how long it had been, a day? Two days? A week? I had no concept of time at this point. Given my gnarled state of mind, I realised that I just wanted to play. All concept of what happened the day my parents were killed went away, and the only thought that came to my mind was that I no longer had any more friends left in the world. Flying up, I reached out again with my mind, finding many fearful people in the major cities of Jurai. Not grasping the reasons as to why they were afraid, I created my ghoulish friends, who seemed to be in my power, howling as they flew by my ears, and headed for the place where there was the greatest number of people. I was returning to the Royal Palace, where the dead bodies were found, and the many witnesses were telling the guards what happened, leading to the rulers of Jurai finding out that the experiment had gone awry. As I came nearer, people started to shout and pointing at me as if they were frightened of me. I laughed, and wanted them to play with my friends so that they too could be happy. They took this the wrong way, thinking I was attacking them, and ran away from me screaming. I was confused, I thought that maybe there were too few of my friends, so I created more, only resulting in more screams. However, as I created more, they became more intelligent and broke from my will, starting to attack people, destroy homes and devastate the landscape, I tried to stop them but my powers were weak from having created so many of them. 

All of a sudden, they were being killed, wiped from existence. I turned and saw the Jurian army, the entire army, firing at them. Most were using some form of weaponry that fired a laser that then exploded upon impact on a target. Some of the others even fought hand to hand with them, using glowing swords. I cried out to them to stop, saying that we were only playing and didn't mean any harm. They didn't stop however, and instead intensified their fire. Starting to attack me I covered my face with my arms. I was lucky that I put my shield up in time, since even with it I felt the heat and shock delivered with each blow. Peeking from within my arms I saw a large glowing object in front of me, very far away. It was the flagship of the Jurian fleet, piloted by one person. Though the blasts the smaller Jurians threw at me did not hurt, I knew an attack from that ship would kill me. It charged up a powerful beam and launched I at one of my larger creations. Soon almost all of my friends were now gone. The woman behind the flagship prepared the most powerful attack yet, and launched it straight at me. I tried to deflect it, but no matter how much energy I put into it, it would not dissipate. It eventually enveloped me, trapping me in a green bubble. All I saw then was some vines reaching out towards me, pulling me into a large dark chamber. I screamed, pleading for me not to be left alone in the dark. However, no forgiveness was forthcoming, and my last sight of someone real was of Empress Hinacey, saying that it wasn't my fault. Then the darkness came and didn't leave for many millennia.

The darkness brought me fear. The loneliness must've driven me insane, I kept seeing ghouls and apparitions in front of me, even though I was in complete darkness. I realise that I must be in some kind of cryostasis chamber, because I fell asleep soon after entering it. However due to some unknown circumstances, maybe due to my genetic makeup, my mind remained conscious, and I was forced to live out many millennia alone. My insanity had risen to a peak, focussing on few things other than my need to make a friend like Yumiko, and to create a new world, away from people like those on Jurai. When the earthquake broke the seal on my chamber, I awoke. My powers were still dormant, because I was weak from being inactive for such a long period. Luckily the earthquake had not awakened the Guardians that were sent to prevent my escape. Silently I escaped into the night, flying over Tokyo. Then I began my plans, creating my fortress, opening up small portals to the dead world, and releasing unrest and thoughts around the city. In my time in solitary there were three minds that seemed to reach out to me more than the rest. Most were merely poor lost souls who wanted to speak to someone as a companion, I indulged these souls for a while before they thanked me and went away from my senses, never to return. Yet these three souls were different, they didn't want compassion or sympathy; they wanted revenge, revenge against Jurai, and against all of those on the mortal plane. They fuelled my desires of worldwide conquest, scheming with me. In the blink of an eye, I created them as mortal figures, to help me out. Hotsuma, Tsugaru and Matori, I never knew why they hated Jurai so much. They were clever, and played with my thoughts, manipulating me. When they died, I was grateful (even though I killed Matori myself); I was free, but about to face my death. Tenchi, the boy I had tried to break by splitting up the family that bound together the power that he possessed. The power that prevented me from expanding my new world order. He surprised me, showing love instead of hate, making me feel like I was welcome to join him in his home. I fell asleep, happy for one of the few times in my life. 

****

The living room

14:30

"The strange plasmic disturbances that were showing up around Tokyo have now disappeared. Experts are still mystified as to why they appeared in the first place. However, they are adamant that no damage was done to any civilians, and do not believe they return."

Tenchi picked up the remote control and turned off the television, knowing more than what the experts knew about. "I certainly hope they don't return…" He mumbled to himself. He knew that Yugi was behind them, and hoped that she wouldn't return to her old ways, though secretly he doubted she would do that now. Ayeka and Ryoko were bathing in the hot springs that Washu created for them. Mihoshi and Kiyone were off-planet sending a report to Galaxy Police HQ, and punishment for using the anti-matter bullet without authorisation. Washu as usual was inside of her lab, endlessly researching information on the crystals. Katsuhito was up at the shrine tending to the area, and Noboyuki had gone off to work. Only Sasami was left available in the house, and she had just finished washing up after another hectic lunch. A sudden bleeping alerted him, and noticing that his wrist was vibrating, he knew that Yugi's condition was changing. Getting up fairly quickly, getting Sasami's attention, he walked briskly up the stairs to his room where Yugi lay. Curious, Sasami followed him. 

Tenchi opened his door to see the monitors reacting more. Moving closer he saw in detail that her heart rate was beating quicker, her mental patterns haywire. She appeared to be hyperventilating as well. Worried he looked closer at her and noticed that she was sweating a lot, frowning. She began to stir in her sleep more, becoming more distressed, even some anguished cries coming from her. Clutching her shoulders to stop her from moving about so much, he gently cooed her, trying to calm her down from what appeared to be a nightmare. In doing so he also made her wake up, her eyelids opening slowly to see Tenchi looking down at her worried. _Her eyes are so beautiful when they're not angry. _He smiled at her, picking up the cloth that had fallen from her head and began dabbing at her skin, removing all traces of sweat. 

"Are you alright now Yugi?" He glanced at the monitors, which were now reacting as if she were conscious, all bleeping normally. 

"I… I'm alright thank you." She replied, a bit uncertain. 

She began to sit up, putting a hand to her head, still a little woozy from too much sleep her head was spinning a little. Tenchi propped up some pillows behind her so that she could sit comfortably. Turning he filled a glass of water on his table from a jug and returned to give it to her. Before he sat on the bed by her, he noticed that her hat-type apparel was resting against the bed, so he subtly stuffed it under the bed. Taking a sip from the glass, Yugi seemed happier and drank the entire glass in a few seconds. 

Handing back the empty glass she blushed, "Sorry, I didn't realise how thirsty I was…"

Accepting the glass, Tenchi smiled again, "That's okay, do you want another glass?"

"Erm… okay then." She looked down, unused to such attention to her.

Picking up the jug and bringing it over to her, he filled up another glass for her. This continued until she had emptied the jug of its contents. Yugi was now totally red in the face, bowed even lower in shame, Tenchi was sure he could almost feel the heat of her blush from where he was sitting. 

Taking the empty glass from her hands, he spoke. "I'll go and fill up another jug for you Yugi."

As if sensing another presence by the door, he turned his head and saw one of Sasami's ponytails coming into view.

"Sasami, you can come in if you want." He inwardly chuckled. _She's so worried over Yugi at times. _

Hearing a small gasp of surprise, a somewhat meek Sasami poked her head around the corner, expecting Tenchi to be angry. However she was overjoyed at seeing Yugi awake. She looked at her for a few seconds before reacting.

"Yugi!" Sasami was delighted and ran over to her friend and gave her a hug. Yugi blushed again, frozen by the overprotective hug she was receiving. Sasami realising what she was doing let her go and sniffed.

"Yugi," Sasami wiped her eye, "you had us all worried. We weren't sure what happened to you."

A bit shocked that she was being told that there were others who cared enough for her to be worried, it took a bit of time for Yugi to respond. "I…. I'm not sure why." She was being sincere, "This only happened one other time in my life, and I didn't know how long I was out for." Reaching out, Yugi tenderly touched Sasami's hand, "But I'm alright now Sasami. Th… thank you Tenchi… for everything."

He knew what she meant, the fact that he had let her live, a second chance at life, was more than words could say. Nodding at her he stood up.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it, I'm sure you have lots to catch up on." This was his opportunity to tell the others that Yugi was awake now, and that things would be very different in the Masaki household. He left the empty jug and glass in the kitchen; he didn't want to disturb the two upstairs at the moment. _Let them have their time alone, soon a decision would have to be made… _

Tenchi sighed as he began to call the other residing women in his house by bringing out a device that Washu had gave him, a selective beeper that could call out to anyone that he needed them. Picking everyone except for Sasami for obvious reasons, he pressed the button and awaited their arrival, sitting outside facing the lake. 

---------

Author's notes

Well, what can I say? I had to explain a few things about Yugi first before I could develop her character further. In case it didn't seem to make sense, the part where Yugi talks about herself, it was all a nightmare, though it didn't seem so when it came out on my monitor. 

I'm not saying anything about who ends up with whom here. I have my own feelings over this matter. T/Y you might say, but what about Y/S??? Heh, you'll just have to find out many chapters on. The age of Yugi is confusing me slightly. I've seen the dubbed episodes that say she is 6 years old, however, on a reliable website, the age given for her is 12. Also how long was she in the containment chamber? 35000 years or 3500 years? Again difference between two reliable sources. Any help would be greatly appreciated; credit will be given too. Hinacey is pronounced as such: Hi (as in 'him') - na - say.

Of course, any comments about this chapter would be well appreciated. So until next update, see you later!

- Jason


	4. Battle

****

Aftermath - Chapter 3

Battle

Outside the Masaki household

43.2 seconds later

What Washu didn't mention to Tenchi upon giving him the paging device is that those who had a receiver could instantly teleport to his exact location within seconds. Using her patented interdimensional portal, with one end attached to Tenchi permanently, all she would have to do is to allow the pagers to create an opening so that the user can walk in and then instantly walk out to meet Tenchi. Noboyuki was the only one not included because he actually worked for a living and thus was not needed when it came to matters that could destroy the Earth. Washu arrived first, having just been sitting in the lab doing some more research on the gems. Soon after it was Katsuhito, he apologised for being late since he was putting away the broom. Next it was Washu and Kiyone. However their entrance was slightly more elaborate. Washu had configured their pagers to open up a larger portal if they were in their space ship. Sure enough, since they were on their way back to their HQ, they were still flying there. They radioed in to their superiors saying that they had to return to Earth urgently. Upon doing so they activated their portal and emerged above the lake. Kiyone was happy to be home again, but Mihoshi commented that they had somehow run out of fuel from that portal jump. As expected the ship fell into the lake, and Tenchi had to help them out of the water. Ryoko and Ayeka took the longest in getting to Tenchi. They were still bathing and had to get dressed quickly. However, Ryoko was being a little mischievous and activated Ayeka's portal first, pushing her through when she was still naked. Once in front of Tenchi, she turned bright red, screamed and reactivated her device to go back to get her clothes. Tenchi just stood there, eyes wide open, a thin trickle of blood appearing from one nostril. When Ayeka met up with a cackling Ryoko she respectfully put on her royal garments, then proceeded to launch all of her insults at her. Ryoko teased her, saying she would reach Tenchi first, and left through her portal. Ryoko appeared a little distance away from Tenchi and began flying towards him, arms outstretched and cooing his name. Ayeka's portal appeared above her, and she managed to trample on Ryoko and apologised to Tenchi, whilst still standing on Ryoko. Ryoko blurred out of vision and stood behind Ayeka, her fists crackling with energy. Ayeka, sensing danger, turned around and began to summon her miniature guardian logs. 

"Stop it!" Tenchi jumped in between the two, preventing another war. They immediately lowered their battle readiness, logs disappearing and the crackling light fizzling out. "Now I called you all here to let you know of a few changes around the house." Everyone looked on, their attention fully upon Tenchi, "Yugi is awake now, and she still seems timid. I don't think that she will revert to her old ways, but we cannot tell at this stage. For the time being I don't want any of you to provoke or attack her." Tenchi smiled now, "She didn't know that what she was doing was wrong."

There were a few murmurs amongst them. Ayeka then spoke up.

"What will happen if she does start attacking us again?" She sounded worried. 

"Don't worry Ayeka, if she does then I will try and calm her down, but if that's not possible…" Tenchi paused, not wanting to say what came next, "… then I will use the sword on her, seeing as her powers are much too powerful for any of you."

This silenced everyone. They knew that Tenchi was a gentle person at heart, but they also knew that he would have to do something drastic in case Yugi were to threaten them. Everyone seemed to agree with his decision as no one chose to oppose it outwardly. 

Ayeka realised something, "Where's Sasami?" she asked, somewhat worried.

"She's talking to Yugi in my room." Tenchi replied. Noticing the way Ayeka's eyes widened he calmed her fears, "Don't worry, she's not a threat to us as yet."

As if on cue, a scream came from within the household. 

"Sasami!" Ayeka cried out, running inside. The whole gang ran inside too, going straight for Tenchi's room. Ayeka was the first there, standing in the doorway looking at Sasami. Tenchi brushed past her into the room to see what was happening. Sasami had her hands held together and was looking at Yugi with a worried expression on her face.

"Yugi…" Sasami began to cry a little at seeing Yugi in this state she was in. 

The small blonde girl was clutching her head in her hands screaming out loud in pain, sparks crackling at her hands, growing in size. She was struggling to stand as her aura fluctuated between yellow and green, yellow and blue. She opened her eyes for an instant; screamed again and vanished in the middle of a chaotic electrical storm she created around her. Ryoko, sensing Yugi's presence outside asked everyone to link hands, holding onto Tenchi's hand as she teleported outside in an instant. Yugi was there, kneeling, behind the house in a small crater that she created. The aura was growing steadily, Yugi crackling more each time. She was groaning in agony, tears of pain flowing down her cheeks, sweat glistening on her skin. Her eyes were now wide open, her irises the size of pin pricks as she tried to force the voices out of her head. 

__

"Yugi, you must kill them all." 

"NO!"

__

****

Yugi's mind

__

There was chaos here as Yugi struggled to hide her deep hidden self. Faltering at last, Yugi's mind began to tear up into two entities. First of all is the Yugi that Sasami was used to seeing, as a vulnerable girl. The other Yugi is floating in the air, wearing the cloak and mantle and distinctive hat, which is what the others would associate to be the evil Yugi. 

__

"So Yugi, have you realised that resisting your true side is not working?" The evil Yugi spoke telepathically to the other Yugi, not moving her lips. _"You have to give in to me. These people have made you weak and pathetic."_

"No…" The good Yugi mumbled feebly, "They care for me…"

Evil Yugi snorted. _"You fool! Do you really think they care for you? They just want to lull you into a sense of freedom so that you lower your guard so that they can kill you easily." _The image of evil Yugi smiled, _"They hate your existence, and thus want to end it."_

The good Yugi buckled, collapsing onto her knees, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks. "N… No. They must still like me." 

__

"Believe what you will, little Yugi. _However only I know the truth, that truth is what I have already told you." _She smirked upon seeing how Yugi was being affected.

Good Yugi fell on her side, her body now in a foetal position, as it began to convulse. Evil Yugi floated over towards the paralysed girl and smiled. _She's finally giving in to me. I can feel the power rushing back to me… _Evil Yugi began to go out of focus for a few seconds at a time. Looking at her hands and seeing them fade in and out; she opened her mouth and began to laugh insanely. 

****

Reality

A loud scream echoed throughout the relative peace in Okayama. Tenchi and the others were blown backwards from the sheer power generated, the light growing to a blinding volume. Opening his eyes when the light died down, he recognised the forcefield surrounding him.

"Ayeka…"

Looking to his right he saw that she jumped in front of all of them to stop any damage to the house. Noticing that the pressure on her shield was weakening, she lowered it, allowing a clear view of the now deeper crater that lay in front of them. Tenchi turned to see everyone more or less uninjured, although Ryoko was helping Sasami up off the floor. Sasami looked worried and began to walk to the crater. Ayeka stopped her from going any further than her. Concerned as ever, Sasami called out the name of her friend.

"Yugi?"

There was a pause before a reply was made. "Yes Sasami?"

The little blue haired princess brightened up suddenly, her smile broadening. She was about to run towards her before Ayeka held a firm hand on her shoulder. Looking up curiously, she saw a stern Ayeka looking straight at the crater. Focussing on the crater again she called out.

"Are you okay Yugi?"

"Yes I am. In fact, I've never felt better." Sasami noticed the change of tone, a certain smugness in it that reminded her of someone she knew all too well.

"You're not our Yugi, you're the…" She was interrupted by a short chortle from the crater, as a familiar figure began to levitate in front of them. As it came into view, hair covering her closed eyes, she continued to float upwards until she was high above them, the group had to crane their neck to see her. Smiling, Yugi opened her eyes to face them. Her familiar cloak, mantle and hat materialised again.

"Hmph, I see that you are all still alive." Holding out one palm towards them she continued, "Well not for long…"

Charging up a blast, energy flowing from other parts of her body onto her arm and then into her palm, she released it at everyone. Braced for impact everyone took cover diving out of the way as it cleaved its way between them. Tenchi looked to Washu, who was covered in earth as were the rest of them.

"I need for you to get the gems now Washu, I think I might need to use them." Nodding, she understood and ran into the house to her lab, where they were being analysed. 

"Tenchi." He turned to Katsuhito, "You seem to have got it into your mind that you have to kill her now."

"That is true." He glanced upwards to make sure she wasn't charging another attack, "However, I'm still going to try and reason with her good side until it is too late."

Yugi looked down upon them. They were mere ants when it came to the power she possessed. _Still, ants are dangerous if they swarm over you_. She decided to eliminate them now that she had the chance. Gathering energy in her hands she prepared to deal the final blow to them.

"Yugi! Why are you doing this?" Tenchi shouted up to her. He was dismayed to see that his judgement had failed when it came to bringing in Yugi to their home. 

She smirked at him, "Foolish boy, did you think you could change the heart of a demon?"

Tenchi persisted, "You were different Yugi, I saw you as a normal girl, I know that you aren't like this always. There's a good side to you inside yourself."

Yugi widened her eyes, not at his words, but due to the presence of a voice in her mind. Cutting herself off from the outside world, see re-entered her mind to see a struggling Yugi getting up off the ground.

__

"Let me out, I now realise that you don't belong here any more." She spoke using telepathy since she was not in full control of her mind. 

"Oh really?" The evil Yugi, hovering above the ground as usual, found this amusing, "And what makes you think that I'm just going to give it up now that I'm in control?" She laughed at the pitiful state that her alter ego was in.

Clenching her fists, the good Yugi began to cry, too weak to do anything. Satisfied that she was now subdued, Yugi returned her focus to the real world. She fired a thin bolt of power towards Tenchi; he had no time to react. Ayeka raised her shield but gasped as the beam penetrated the barrier. Ryoko reacted immediately to this, fading out only to appear next to Tenchi, barging him out of the way. Tenchi was now lying sprawled on the ground, a bit stunned from the fall, Ryoko on top of him. As she slowly raised herself, he noticed that his chest was covered in blood, his clothes absorbing it. Checking himself, and after feeling no pain, he found that it was not him who was injured. He looked at Ryoko, to where she was clutching her right shoulder, seeing her blood flow freely from her wound between her fingers. _The cut… it's so deep… _Tenchi could see fragments of bone that were jutting out from between Ryoko's fingers. 

Ryoko was angry now. She had given Yugi some time to adjust to her surroundings, but there was now no question in her mind that she was evil. Reluctantly, she began to power up, energy crackling around her fists. Opening her right palm, an energy blast formed into a small ball, then into a beam of light as she closed the hand again. Leaping up towards Yugi she yelled in rage as she made what would have been a fatal blow. However, a forcefield that Yugi had created put a stop to that, the light beam causing ripples in the shield as it failed to break through. Placing more force, trying to push against the barrier only resulted in more ripples, and a cutting laugh from Yugi. However, the strain became too much for her shoulder, as the wound opened up further. Ryoko tried to grit her teeth and bear, but eventually it became too much. She lost her focus, the beam vanished, and she fell to the ground, having exhausted most of her strength. Waiting for the impact, she realised that it was softer than expected and looked up to see, of all people, Ayeka there, holding her above the ground. Mihoshi and Kiyone became to fire their blasters at Yugi, with the usual effect occurring again; all their shots were deflected. 

Washu had returned, with the crystals, which were glowing brightly. Throwing them over, Tenchi managed to catch them. The crystals glowed brighter and transformed into the somewhat unwieldy sword that had been seen only twice before in his lifetime. Yugi narrowed her eyes at this. _That sword… The power is immense… I must have it. _Readying another attack, Yugi turned to Tenchi. However she was interrupted by a powerful attack. Shaken, she flew back a few metres and saw that Ayeka was the attacker, arms outstretched, with the Guardians at her side. Ayeka had just unleashed her ultimate attack. 

She smirked. "You will not harm our Lord Tenchi." 

Moving her arms to the centre again and following some intricate hand movements, another attack was thrown towards Yugi from the Guardians, which led to her falling backwards. Stopping just above the ground Yugi glared at Ayeka as she wiped a trickle of blood from her now cut cheek. 

"Yugi!" Sasami cried out towards her friend. "I know you can hear me! You aren't evil, remember what we talked about earlier?"

Once again Yugi could feel the other persona in her mind. Only this time she was recalling something. The good Yugi was sitting there, her mind trying to remember.

****

A few minutes ago

Tenchi's Room

"Yugi, how are you feeling?" Sasami had this worried look in her eyes.

"I'm fine Sasami, really, Tenchi helped me to recover." Yugi blushed again.

"Washu built a machine to heal you as well, although all she said was that you were sleeping…" Sasami was reminded of the time that Washu told her this, thinking she was in a coma, only to be told otherwise.

"I can't believe that people care for me…" Yugi mumbled this out loud, then shocked since she wasn't supposed to speak it out loud.

Sasami looked at her, "Is it so hard to believe Yugi?" This made her look at the blue-haired princess, who now had her eyes closed and beaming at her, "I mean, I like you." She looked at Yugi, "If even that is possible, why not other people? Tenchi cares for you; Washu obviously cares for you. The others will care for you when they get to know you better."

"I suppose that's true…" Yugi took this in and realised that it made sense. 

"Besides, if the worst happens, then I'll always believe in you. You're my best friend, I could never abandon you." She giggled as Ryo-Ohki popped in and licked Yugi's hand, who then delicately began to stroke the cabbit on the head, making her purr appreciatively. 

Tears began to well up in Yugi's eyes. She never heard those words since Yumiko all those years ago. She then hugged Sasami, happy that she had a friend even after everything she did. Sasami hugged back smiling, with soothing noises to calm her down. 

****

The present

Yugi's mind

The good Yugi smiled at these memories, then remembered that once she had pulled out of the hug, the evil voice began to make its presence known. She lost control a few seconds later. Standing up, she faced her evil counterpart, who still hovered above her watching. 

__

"You don't control me, I control my own mind. I now have enough confidence to defeat you." The good Yugi smirked as she thought this towards the evil Yugi. 

"Oh really? What makes you say that?" The evil Yugi laughed this off, but was starting to get worried. 

__

"This." Raising her arms, the landscape before them changed, to a familiar icy background.

"Wh… What are you doing?" Th evil Yugi tried to reverse what was happening but couldn't. She stared at her palms in shock, sweat forming on her brow as realisation dawned on her. 

__

"See? You are nothing." Levitating herself for the first time, the good Yugi rose up to her twin's level. Bowing her head, she raised both arms perpendicular to her body, her fingers contorted in a symmetrical pattern. An aura began to cover her entire body, a white colour, purity. Her clothes were slowly changing; her robes became white with red lapels, the sleeves vanished and were cut off just below her shoulders, coloured red. A grey belt made of cloth appeared around her waist. She was now wearing the official robes of the Jurian Royal family, the same robes she wore before everything changed in her past. She looked up, her face bearing some familiar markings to Ayeka when in a battle suit, although they were yellow, consistent with her hair colour. 

"Hmph, you think that scares me?" Evil Yugi was becoming more worried by the second, powering up a blast within both hands. "I can kill you in an instant!" She released it towards the good Yugi, but she backhanded it away, shocking evil Yugi. 

__

"Now it's my turn…" Facing one palm towards evil Yugi, the good Yugi fired an invisible bolt of energy, flinging the other back many metres. She smiled. _"See? You are very weak, and I am far more powerful than you."_

The evil Yugi, now enraged, launched herself towards her alter ego, forgetting the fact that she was left completely open to any attack. The good Yugi became sad, she didn't want to kill anyone, but she might need to do so in order to remove this presence from her mind. Reluctantly holding out both hands forward, she unleashed a terrific fireball that engulfed her foe, her screams showing that it had worked. Once the light had dissipated, she was surprised to see that the evil Yugi was not dead, but lying on the ground charred, smoke rising from her. The good Yugi flew down rapidly to the body and kneeled down beside her holding her head. She had one eye open, and looked to her good side and smiled, shocking the good Yugi.

__

"T… Thank you…" The power must've been returning to the good side, seeing as the evil side had begun to talk telepathically again. _"It was fun for a while, but now I think I've finished playing…" _She stopped her mental conversation for a moment as she coughed up some blood. _"Take my strength, I will not bother you any more, but it will help you to power up, to become more than I ever was." _They touched their hands, and a blinding white light emanated from the connection. When it died down, small electrical sparks were surrounding their fingers. _"Be good, little Yugi, and try to find happiness in this life." _

Tears fell from her good side. "I will, I promise you I will do so." This elicited a smile from the evil Yugi. _"Th… Thank you…" _Her head rolled to the right, her eyes closed, as she passed away into the next life. 

The surviving Yugi stood up, sad for being there at the death of what was essentially her own self. She turned away from the body and decided to return to consciousness. 

****

Reality

The group was watching Yugi, she hadn't moved for several minutes, not even looking at them, just hovering there with her eyes closed. Tenchi was confused. _I don't understand it, she isn't attacking nor does it seem that she is defending herself. I can't see any way in which she may be powering up… _He turned to the others who were all equally confused, but still ready for anything. Glancing up, he saw her eyelids jerk open suddenly, shocking a few of the members of the group. They slid shut gradually as she began to fall from the sky, her mantle crashing to the ground first. Not caring whether this was a ruse or trap, Tenchi ran in, dropping the sword beforehand and managed to get underneath to catch Yugi. Opening her eyes again, she smiled. 

"I did it, I beat her." She then fell asleep again. 

Turning to the others, Tenchi shook his head as if to say 'She is not our enemy now'. Sasami smiled gleefully as Tenchi walked inside the house. 

------------

****

Author's notes

Oh dear, I haven't been faithful to this have I? Several months in between updates surely can't be a good thing. Sorry for those who were actually interested in this series, but I am continuing it now, and hopefully more chapters will follow considering I now have all of Easter to write for. 


	5. Decisions

****

Aftermath - Chapter 4

Decisions

****

The next day

11am

Yugi had woken up in Tenchi's room. No one was there at that time, except for Washu's computer doing some diagnostics on her. At that moment, several monitors began to bleep and flash, scaring her slightly. A few moments later Tenchi entered with Sasami, somewhat cautiously walking towards her. Ryoko, a bandage on her shoulder having been mostly healed by Washu's technology, stood outside the room in case anything was to happen again. 

"Yugi…" Sasami began, "What happened yesterday?"

Yugi then began to recount everything that happened, how her mind had been corrupted by the evil presence, and how it had vanished, dying in her mind and giving up her strength. Tenchi smiled, he was glad that he hadn't misjudged her after all. 

Going downstairs for a lunch that Sasami prepared, the mood at the table was a bit tense to begin with, not surprising since the person who had caused them so much trouble was there eating with them. It didn't last long however, Yugi was shy but Sasami had managed to coax out some responses from her in front of the others, even making her giggle a little. Once the others had seen that Yugi was just a normal girl, they began to relax and speak more openly. It seemed that the old environment had returned to the Masaki residence. The meal ended soon after in a happy mood, all except one. Everyone left their bowls and glasses in the kitchen and left to do other things except for Sasami and Yugi. Sasami proceeded to wash up the dishes as Yugi watched her. 

"S… Sasami…" She was a bit nervous still.

"Yes Yugi?" replied Sasami, glancing at Yugi for a moment before returning to the dishes. 

"I'm going to go walk around outside." Yugi was fidgeting with her hands.

"That's nice, do you want me to go with you?" Sasami put down the bowl she was holding for a moment to look at her friend. 

"No, no…" Yugi replied haltedly, "I'll be fine, thanks Sasami."

"Oh okay then…" She sounded disappointed but quickly brightened up again. "Have fun then!"

"Bye Sasami." Yugi turned and left the kitchen and walked to the entrance, putting on her outside shoes and leaving her slippers in one corner. 

Opening the door she stepped out into the fresh air, the sun was shining brightly and some birds were singing cheerfully. Sighing she began to walk around the house to a path that led into the forest. Ryoko, who was humming away and sunning herself on the roof, peered from beneath her sunglasses to see Yugi walking into the trees. _What is she up to? I might as well follow her just to make sure she doesn't get into any bother, seeing as I'm doing nothing useful here. _Standing up slowly she blurred out of sight only to reappear on the ground moments later. 

Yugi didn't know where she was going; she just walked wherever her feet took her, up the stairs towards the shrine. Despite the sunny day, her face remained in darkness, her bangs shielding her from the sun's rays. Once she reached the shrine she looked around nervously. She hadn't been here before, and the mere presence of the shrine itself made her fearful, reminding her of the holy commands of the containment chamber she was sealed in millennia ago. Jogging away from the shrine she elicited a raised eyebrow from Ryoko, who watched this pan out from within the trees, at the young girl's strange behaviour. 

Tears fell as Yugi now ran, her face still unseen. Not watching where she was going she tripped over the jutting root of a tree. Sobbing she lay on the ground, her tears mingling with the earth. Scrunching her hands she pushed herself off the ground and wiped her eyes, the sunlight reaching them finally. Her face grubby looking she stared at something before her with astonishment. 

It was a cave, a seemingly natural opening in the side of the hill. Walking in she looked around. _Nothing but a normal cave… _Taking note of a rock placed against the wall of the cave, she sat on it, her head resting on her hands. 

"I only bring fear to everyone here…" She thought out loud, "Why do I exist even though I know this? Maybe I should just kill myself…"

A solitary tear trailed down her left cheek. "Sasami likes me, but the others won't be able to accept me for what I have done to them." _Maybe I should leave…_

Ryoko was standing to the side of the entrance, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, listening to Yugi. Her eyes were downcast due to what she heard. _It's only understandable Yugi; you did try and kill all of us. It's not right for you to take your own life though because of this… _She stopped as Yugi continued.

"I'm a freak, that's what everyone called me in the past…" 

She felt out for some of the soil particles on the ground to rise up, her right index finger lazily making patterns in the air. The dirt managed to replay some figures from her life, her former friends who turned once they found out she was different, a smiling Yumiko, the adults who were chosen as her guardians, then Sasami and finally Tenchi. She held onto that image of Tenchi, the smile he gave her back in the Ice Fortress, for a few minutes until she made her finger limp, the earth falling to the ground unceremoniously. 

"How can I be friends with people when I have powers like these?" Her eyes began to well up again. This time however Ryoko floated in. 

"What are you crying for?" She sounded harsh to Yugi, who looked up to see the former space pirate silhouetted by the sun, hands on hips. 

Yugi became stroppy, "No reason, can't a person cry in peace?" She wiped her eyes to clear the tears from her vision. 

"No." Replied Ryoko, who began to walk over to Yugi, "Not when someone I know is planning on suicide." She crouched down to Yugi's level and looked into her purple eyes.

Yugi's eyes widened slightly, "You heard then?"

Ryoko nodded, "All of it."

Yugi sat there, deflated, "So, what do you think I should do?" 

Ryoko stood up and sat next to her on the rock, putting a tentative arm around the smaller girl. "It's not my place to say, you have to make your own decision Yugi." Ryoko was understanding but then took on a more firm tone, "However suicide is not an option, no one hates you that much."

Yugi looked up to the cyan haired demon, only to be met with a smile. "You think that you're a freak? I'm hardly what most humans would call normal." 

To emphasise this point she held out her other arm, the palm facing upwards. The gem on that arm glowed for a few seconds before a ball of orange crackling energy was formed, floating in her palm. The gem then restored itself to its former colour, the fireball dissipating in the air. 

"Amongst us here, you would be considered normal." She then bowed her head slightly, "Admittedly we need to come in contact with normal people in the cities, but all you need to do is not show your powers at those times."

"That's true I suppose…" Yugi realised that what Ryoko said made sense. "But I still feel that I can't live with all of you… I've brought too much chaos to the household."

Ryoko remained silent, knowing that this was indeed true. She waited for Yugi to continue.

"I also fear myself… in case I lose control again for some reason, I could also end up hurting someone I care badly this time." The shadows concealed her face again. 

Ryoko spoke up, "So what do you think you should do?"

"Maybe I do need to take a break from everyone, not forever, but for a while, until I learn to control myself." 

Yugi was deep in thought, considering her few options. Suddenly her eyes jerked open a minute later, a smile breaching her features as she stood up. 

"I need to get back to the house now Ryoko… I have to speak to someone…"

"Who?" asked Ryoko, "Tenchi?"

"No," this time Yugi smiled fully, "Washu."

"Washu?!" Ryoko was completely baffled as to why Yugi would want to see her, "Well, whatever's good for you I suppose…" Ryoko waved her suggestion off. 

At seeing Yugi's face sadden a bit, Ryoko turned back to her and smiled. "Say… what do you think about me giving you a lift back home?"

"Y… You mean f… flying back?" Yugi sounded worried. 

"Of course I do!" Ryoko stood up now, very proud of herself.

"You won't…" Yugi swallowed, "Drop me… will you?"

Ryoko put her hand to her chin, considering it, smirking slightly she said, "Well… we'll have to see won't we?"

Fading in behind Yugi she picked her up and flew outside. Yugi squealed at this, fearful for her life. From the shrine, Katsuhito, who was sweeping away the stray leaves, looked up to see Ryoko flying up high in the sky with a frightened Yugi. He sighed. _Just another day in the Masaki household… _Ignoring the two he continued to sweep the leaves away. 

Meanwhile Yugi was scared, she had no idea as to what Ryoko was up to. She then noticed that they had stopped moving. Looking down she almost fainted at seeing how high they were from the ground. 

"Now Yugi," Ryoko began, "I won't let you hit the ground, so listen to me." Yugi began to listen with a morbid feeling. "You're going to learn how to fly, I know you can do it, since your evil form could. So…" Ryoko stood up straight, holding Yugi out at arms length, "Here goes!" She let her go.

__

She let me go! She let me go! I can't believe she let me go! Yugi was panicking, screaming as she fell, her arms and legs flailing about in a futile hope of catching a foothold. She opened her eyes to see Ryoko flying upside down beside her, the cyan hair pressed flat against the wind. Ryoko looked into her eyes

"Try to relax Yugi, and soon the power will come to you." Yugi was exasperated at this.

"Relax!? How can I relax when I'm falling to my death?!" She closed her eyes again whilst Ryoko began to doubt herself. _Maybe it won't work after all…_

Yugi suddenly opened her eyes, the irises the size of pinheads. Feeling the air around her she began to form a counter-force to gravity. A thin white aura surrounded her body, her very skin, like the silver lining of a cloud. She was now hovering steadily a dozen feet from the ground below her. She turned her fiery eyes towards the sound of clapping. 

"Well done Yugi!" Ryoko sounded very happy, almost proud, "You did it!"

"What?!" Yugi was enraged, "I almost died thanks to you!" She continued to stare at Ryoko with a malicious intent. 

"Bah!" Ryoko waved her off, "I would've saved you… Now…" She appeared to be eager, "Let's see what you can do now!"

"No." Yugi turned her head away from Ryoko, closing her eyes, in a fairly large sulk. She was still floating of her own accord.

"Aww come on…" Ryoko was mocking hurt. "Please…" Her eyes began to glisten with tears."

Yugi took one look at her and dismissed her, turning away again. Hearing a sniffling sound behind her she sighed. 

"Okay… I give in, I'll fly for you a little."

"Yes!" Ryoko punched the air in victory.

"Try and catch me first!" She pulled down an eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Ryoko, immediately darting off into the sky. 

What followed was a long chase between the two. Yugi using her powers of atom manipulation managed to evade Ryoko for a long while, powering the air molecules that made her fly faster than Ryoko's natural ability. She executed perfect loops, dives, sudden stops and even changing direction with no momentum in milliseconds. Ryoko's fading powers couldn't even keep up with her. However the energy it took to travel at those speeds resulted in Yugi tiring and eventually being playfully tapped on the shoulder by Ryoko. Smiling they both returned to the ground.

"That was some speed you showed there Yugi." Ryoko said as she wiped the sweat off her brow. "It beat even me for a while."

"I know…" panted Yugi, "But it takes so much energy to move that fast…" She paused to take a deep breath, "My stamina is very poor."

"No need to worry!" Ryoko said cheerily, "You're still young, and it won't be long until you are strong enough to fly for days!"

Yugi smiled back and stifled a yawn. "I don't suppose you'd take me home now? I'm quite tired from all the flying."

"Sure, no problem." Ryoko walked over and picked up the lighter girl and flew gently over the trees to the Masaki home. Looking down at the now snoozing girl Ryoko caringly brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. _The poor girl has been through so much… She's completely exhausted from it all. She is an innocent girl after all, just misguided… I hope her decision doesn't affect everyone too much._

They arrived home a few minutes later, Ryoko fading to the ground when a few feet above it. She gently tickled Yugi, making her stir, and woke her up.

"Yugi… we're home now." Ryoko smiled when Yugi yawned aloud. 

"Okay… I'm going to speak to Washu now." Ryoko set her down and walked into the house side by side. 

The living room was empty; Sasami had finished washing up a while ago. Yugi walked up to the door under the staircase and knocked lightly. Ryoko watched as Yugi stood there, slightly nervous. Walking past her, Ryoko opened the door to the back of the house and made her way to the hot springs. 

"Who is it?" The door itself seemed to speak to Yugi. A small hole opened up and a mechanical eye looked out of the hole. Looking left and right it could see no one and was about to go back in until…

"Erm, sorry, down here."

It moved back out and angled down to see Yugi. The eye went back into the hole, which then closed. The door then opened of its own accord, sliding into the wall fully. The blonde girl apprehensively walked into the pitch-black room; the door then closed fairly rapidly behind her. Breathing in quickly in darkness, she was about to turn around before the lights turned on throughout the room. Yugi gasped, the size of the room was incredible. There was a large open space where a few comfy chairs and tables lay, stacked with books and papers. On one wall a large monitor was displaying countless lines of code, letters, numbers, symbols, and other things that Yugi couldn't recognise. The other walls had many gleaming computers doing seemingly with lights that flashed on occasion, doing immeasurable amounts of work. 

"How may I help you Yugi?" A chair facing the monitor swivelled round to show the diminutive figure of Washu. 

"Erm…" Yugi was tense, "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Oh really?" Washu quirked an eyebrow at this, "What 'thing' in particular?"

"Well…" Yugi racked her brains for a few seconds before coming up with the best answer, "Me…"

Washu's interest was piqued; after encouraging Yugi to continue, the entire plan was unfolded. The meeting took an hour, but afterwards both people left the laboratory with smiles on their faces. 

****

After dinner

7pm

Washu stood up, startling everyone there. The meal had gone quietly, although Yugi seemed to be slightly more cheery than usual. 

"Everyone, I have something to say that will affect everyone here."

No one made a move, everyone stopping their eating. 

"Yugi here has decided on a suitable plan for her life, to make herself live as normal as possible." Yugi bowed her head slightly, caving in to the curious stares that she earned from everyone.

"She has chosen to remain in progressive stasis for as long as it takes for her body and mind to mature. She understands that as long as she is still angry with the world, she poses a threat to all of us, despite her recent victory." Washu paused for a moment to let this information sink in, "She believes, and I do too, that by doing this she will have the mental and physical capabilities to cope with such strains, and maybe, use them to her advantage. She will also age much faster in this form of stasis than any normal person would be able to, and thus she should look older when she leaves it."

Washu looked to Yugi who nodded slightly and stood up. "I'm sorry everyone, but this is the only way I can become fully accepted." She turned to her friend sitting beside her, "I'm sorry Sasami, I should've told you about this…" She saw the tears fill the pink-eyed princess.

"Yugi!" Sasami jumped up and hugged Yugi, "I'm going to miss you so much!" Yugi hugged her back, her own tears mingling in the blue hair. 

Everyone watched this in silence. Washu sat down, her eyes closed, knowing that she had to construct the device herself. Ryoko saw the sadness in Yugi. _She doesn't want to hurt us, so she has to punish herself for causing us pain…_Ayeka didn't know how to take this. She was glad to be rid of Yugi, but for another strange reason, she had taken a liking to the little blonde girl, and would miss her presence. Kiyone knew that this would have to be reported to the Galaxy HQ and had begun in her mind the journey and account she would give to her superiors. Mihoshi was, as usual, ditzy. _I wonder what will happen next on Space Police Police Men…? _Katsuhito had no thoughts in this matter, as did Noboyuki, who thought of it as one less person to feed. Tenchi on the other hand was bombarded with many emotions. _Why is she doing this? She knows that she can control the urges inside of her now… Is she trying to protect us from herself? She doesn't want to leave us yet; I can see it in her eyes. I… I don't want her to leave… _Tenchi was confused, but he didn't say anything out loud. 

Before everyone could fully understand, the stasis equipment had been built in a few days. Washu transported it along with everyone else to the cave behind the shrine that Katsuhito maintained. Yugi then began to say goodbye to everyone; Ayeka, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Katsuhito and Noboyuki wished her luck and left promptly. They weren't angry, just not sure how to act in front of Yugi. 

Ryoko walked up to her and patted her head. "When you come out of there we'll continue to tap into your powers, and hopefully spar one day." 

Yugi smiled, "Thank you Ryoko, I hope so too." Ryoko returned the smile and turned away, fading away into the sky.

Sasami again brought Yugi into a long hug, who returned it likewise. The two were unwilling to let each other go, since it would be their last time they could hold each other like that for a long time, but eventually they let go. 

"I'll miss you Yugi." Sasami said quietly.

"I'll miss you too Sasami." Yugi dared not to say any more in case she cried again, her eyes were already red from crying earlier in the day, upon realising it was her last day awake. Sasami moved back a few steps so that Tenchi could speak to her. He walked up to her and knelt down to her level.

"Yugi…" He paused for a second, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She looked into his earthy brown eyes, "Yes, I'm positive that this has to be done." She spoke assertively but still a little whimper left her lips. 

Tenchi sighed and looked down. _There's nothing more I can do now then. _He looked up again to see her face being betrayed by a solitary tear from her left eye. He reached out with his right hand to wipe it away, but he kept his hand on her cheek. He smiled at her.

"I'll be waiting for you when you come out, Yugi." _You'll become even more beautiful. _

Yugi gasped._ I heard his thoughts! But how…? I didn't try to read them… Maybe because of his hand touching me. And what did he mean by me becoming more beautiful? _

Tenchi released his hand and stood up, and looked to Washu, who walked to Yugi. 

"Everything is set Yugi. Just say the word and we can begin."

Yugi looked to the machine and nodded. "I'm ready." 

"Good." Washu smiled, "I'll miss you Yugi, your biological make-up is fascinating, I might need to look over you thoroughly when you come out of stasis."

A large sweatdrop appeared on the back of Yugi's head. "Erm… okay then… where do I lie?"

"Just here, your head resting on this pillow." Replied Washu, indicating said pillow.

Yugi did as she was told. She looked once more at Tenchi and Sasami, then finally at Washu. "Go ahead Washu."

Pressing a button, the machine began to hum and a transparent pane of glass began to cover the lying Yugi from both sides, meeting up with each other in the middle. As Washu began to adjust some settings, Yugi looked over to the other two watching her, mouthing 'See you later' to them. As the cooling gas began to fill the chamber she was enclosed in, her eyelids became more heavy, her smile relaxing to a more neutral state. Soon she was completely asleep, the only signs of life being the slow rhythmic breaths she was taking in and the monitors that the machine had to check on her heartbeat. Sasami turned to Tenchi and began to cry into his shirt, while he tried to comfort her leading her away from Yugi, saying that she was just leaving, Washu walked out along after them.

Unnoticed by everyone, a single tear left one of Yugi's eyes, solidifying into an icy crystal within moments. 

And so time went on… A year later the story will continue…

----------------------

****

Author's Notes

Well, that finishes that one for the time being! Now that this short story has ended I can continue with my other projects. I will be planning a continuation to this soon, the pairing should be fairly obvious by now, but will much rather move on to better things for the time being, namely my Love Hina one, and maybe my FLCL/NGE one. 

Reviews make a person happy, so please let me know if you liked this series. There must be _some_ Shin Tenchi fans out there. 

Until another time…

- Jason

The continuation has finally begun. Follow this link…

http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=924680

To 'Intermediate Stage - Awakening'

Enjoy!


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